Service
"Service" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the FX original series Sons of Anarchy, and the series' twenty-fourth episode overall. Summary Chibs contemplates making a secret deal with agent Stahl in order to protect his wife and daughter. Deep in emotional turmoil, Opie seeks both revenge and reconciliation. SAMCRO finds out how to drive a wedge between members of the true IRA. Plot Late at night Jax sews his charter patches back on his cut; revenge is certain. Tara wonders if another act of violence doesn’t contradict the lessons from JT’s manuscript; Jax says “If Gemma had gotten raped on John’s watch, he would’ve written a whole different book.” Clay arrives; he and his “son” bury their past. They agree retaliation must be deadly… but smart; Clay says he can’t do it without Jax. The guys gather in the SAMCRO chapel; Clay and Jax tell the others about the rape. The MC wants to take action, but Jax and Clay demand restraint. Jax says any show of force will get them thrown in jail. He says they need to mimic Zobelle’s tactics: find a weakness, and use it to unravel them. Everyone agrees. Bobby says Lin’s gun pipeline hasn’t opened yet: they will need guns; Jax tells everyone to bring in their personal stock. Gemma tells Tara that since Clay knows about the rape, he’ll never want to have sex with her again. Tara says Clay loves her; Gemma says it isn’t about love, it’s about ownership. Tara finds Jax packing up his handguns. She tells him she needs to know their relationship is heading towards something more permanent; he says it is. Tig packs up guns at Clay’s house. He drinks freely from a vodka bottle; he’s a little drunk. Gemma enters. They hug and kiss; the kiss lingers a fraction too long, and Tig backs out of it. Gemma says she’ll give her guns to the cause. She reaches for the hatboxes on the top shelf of the hall closet. Tig reaches up too; their bodies press together. The boxes fall; Tig kneels by her feet to collect the guns. The intimate proximity is too much for either to ignore; Gemma pulls Tig in towards her body. They embrace, and begin to kiss; hesitant at first, it quickly builds. Their bodies slam into a wall as framed family photos fall. Overwhelmed by passion, she tears open his shirt; he drops his pants, and they begin to have sex. Tig sees a smashed photo of Jax on the floor; he snaps out of his lusty, intoxicated insanity. Tig arrives at T-M, and sees Opie working on his bike. Tig tries to make small talk but appears distracted; he needs to confess but isn’t sure how. He asks Opie why Donna was driving his truck the night she was killed: “she wasn’t supposed to be in the truck.” Opie figures it out. He erupts with rage, attacking Tig with a flurry of punches. Tig puts up no resistance; he takes the beating. Tig says Stahl forced their hand: she had him and Clay convinced that Opie had turned rat, so she’s the one who really killed Donna. Jax, Clay, Bobby, and Piney see the confrontation; they approach, but Opie gets in his truck and drives away. Clay demands to know what was said. Tig confesses to telling Op the truth about killing Donna, and how Stahl is to blame. The news confirms what Bobby suspected, and what Piney already knew. Jax thinks Opie is going after Stahl. Bobby and Piney stare at Clay and Tig with contempt: the ugly truth is finally out in the open. Parked outside of the Charming PD, Opie watches as Agent Stahl gets into her car and drives away; he follows. Jax arrives at the PD, and tells Hale that Opie is gunning for Stahl. Hale tells Jax that Stahl left to follow a lead on the IRA... possibly to see Zobelle. Clay seeks Bobby’s counsel; he says it would be “very bad PR” if the other charters found out about the Donna mistake. Jax pulls up at Impeccable Smokes; he sees Zobelle, Weston, and Ule exit. There is some tension brewing between the white separatists; Zobelle and Ule get into one car while Weston gets in another. They go in different directions; Jax follows Zobelle. At the clubhouse Clay, Bobby, and Juice look at the guns they’ve collected: it won’t be enough to take on the well-armed Zobelle. Clay decides they need to ask the Irish for help. At an ATF office outside Charming, Agent Stahl goes over her deal with Chibs. She has arranged protection for his wife and daughter, but hasn’t made any progress getting immunity for SAMCRO on the pending assault charge; Chibs says without immunity the deal is off. Stahl counters that thanks to him they captured Edmond Hayes, who has already flipped on his father Cameron. She says Cameron will likely flip on Jimmy; if that happens before Chibs signs the deal, Fiona and Kerrianne will be “in the wind.” She says if Jimmy ever found out that Chibs “got the ball rolling,” there’s no telling what he’d do. Opie sees Chibs (deal papers in hand) exit the unmarked ATF office. Stahl and Agent Estevez get into their car and drive off; Opie follows the Feds. Jax watches as Zobelle and Ule arrive at a store in an urban locale; he sees Marcus Alvarez and other Mayans outside. Inside the store Zobelle and Alvarez strike a deal to ally forces and control the heroin trade for every prison in Northern California: for a fifty/fifty split of the profits, the Mayans supply the drugs and the AB handles distribution. At a marina Weston meets up with Cameron Hayes. Stahl watches as the Irishman hands over two large duffels containing four-dozen AKs. Stahl tells Estevez to tail Cameron. In the marina parking lot Opie watches as Cameron and his Federal tail pull away; he sees Stahl get into her car... alone. He approaches with his 9mm drawn, and pulls her from the car. He confronts Stahl about her involvement in Donna’s death. Stahl says she underestimated Clay’s “capacity for vengeance,” but accepts her “share of the guilt.” Opie points his gun at her head, unsure of his next move. He says “the woman you killed” was a “wonderful mother” and “an innocent soul”; Stahl trembles in fear. Opie pops the magazine from his gun: it’s empty. He hands the magazine to her; he tells her that the next time she tries to twist the truth, remember that “the outlaw had mercy.” He walks away; Stahl drops into her front seat. Anxiety turns to sorrow; she begins to sob. Gemma sits outside the Lodi Church smoking a cigarette. She is approached by Reverend Kane; he introduces himself as Francis, and bums a smoke. The two talk about the nature of forgiveness. Francis, a former addict, tells her that service to others is the only thing that keeps him sane; he adds that God puts opportunities to serve before us all the time; she just needs to look for them. In the clubhouse Opie tells Jax he didn’t kill Stahl. Jax reveals that he knew the truth about Donna’s death all along: it was the cause of the rift with Clay. Opie wonders how he can “share a patch” with Clay and Tig; Jax says the burden lands on the club: they “made” Clay and now need to “unmake” him. Opie wants to help Jax make the change; Jax gives him JT’s manuscript to read. In the Irish pub Clay and the others meet with Jimmy O’; despite some raw nerves between Jimmy and Chibs, the gun deal between SAMCRO and the IRA is back on track. Jimmy promises no more guns will go to “white power,” and gives Clay Zobelle’s next shipment at no charge. Opie reads the manuscript. In the SAMCRO chapel Jax, Clay, Bobby, Tig, and Opie have a pow-wow. Opie says he doesn’t think the truth coming out would serve anyone: “the secret dies here.” This pleases Clay. Opie tells the others about seeing Chibs at the ATF office; he urges them to “get the truth” and “trust what he tells you” before acting. In the garage Gemma finds a sullen Chibs. She can sense something’s wrong, and sees an opportunity for service; she pulls up a chair to talk. He begins to cry. He asks if she ever tried to protect a loved one but ended up feeling wretched because of it; she has. He says he feels guilty and conflicted and doesn’t know how to get out. She hugs him; she says “the only way out of the hole” is to “go tell ‘em.” In the chapel Jax tells the others about the meeting between Zobelle and Alvarez. He says the guns were never about race, they were about controlling the heroin traffic. Bobby wonders how the plan jives with Weston and his crew of “hardcore color haters”; Jax says Weston wasn’t there: Zobelle is doing it behind his lieutenant’s back. Clay thinks this bit of news might serve them well. Chibs enters the Chapel, and asks “for a word.” He tells the others about the deal he started to make with the Feds, but says he never went further than giving up Edmond. Now he’s worried about his family’s safety should Jimmy find out he turned. He apologizes to them. Clay says Chibs “didn’t make the deal” so he’s “not a rat”; they’ll figure out how to make it right with Jimmy. Jax promises the club will protect Fiona and Kerrianne. Suddenly, Piney, without his kutte and still holding a grudge against Clay for killing Donna, busts into the chapel holding his .45 pointing it at Clay and fires twice missing both times before being held back and disarmed by the boys. Clay, astounded, reacts by wanting to rough Piney up. Opie asks for the room alone with his father. Some time later Opie explains to Clay that his father was only trying to protect him as he thought Opie would kill Clay so he'd take that fall himself. He asks Clay to give him a break. Piney, figuring he'd be 'made to go away' for his attempt to kill Clay tells the guys, Let me know how you wanna handle this. Clay instead responds by saying, Don't ever come into this clubhouse without your kutte. The guys leave the clubhouse for the evening; Tara tells Clay that Gemma is in the office, but Clay keeps walking. Tig stops him. He tells Clay that Gemma needs to know he still loves her: the “thing that’s causing her the most pain” is thinking he doesn’t want her anymore. Tig embraces his president; Clay considers the advice. Clay goes into Gemma’s office. He wants them to go home, but she still has work to finish. He slams the office door shut, and sweeps everything off her desk. Clay tells Gemma he wants his wife. She looks at him lovingly; they kiss, and tear at each other's clothes as they lie on the desk and begin to make love. Credits Main Cast * Charlie Hunnam as Jackson 'Jax' Teller * Katey Sagal as Gemma Teller Morrow * Mark Boone Junior as Bobby 'Elvis' Munson * Kim Coates as Alex 'Tig' Trager * Tommy Flanagan as Filip 'Chibs' Telford * Ryan Hurst as Harry 'Opie' Winston * Johnny Lewis as Kip 'Half-Sack' Epps * William Lucking as Piermont 'Piney' Winston * Theo Rossi as Juan Carlos 'Juice' Ortiz * Maggie Siff as Tara Knowles * Ron Perlman as Clarence 'Clay' Morrow Supporting cast Special guest stars * Ally Walker as Agent June Stahl * Adam Arkin as Ethan Zobelle Guest stars * Tayler Sheridan as Deputy Chief David Hale * Dayton Callie as Chief Wayne Unser * Emilio Rivera as Marcus Alvarez * Jamie McShane as Cameron Hayes * Henry Rollins as AJ Weston * Winter Ave Zoli as Lyla * Tony Perez as Reverend Kane * Titus Welliver as Jimmy O'Phelan * Julie Ariola as Mary Winston * Marcos de la Cruz as Agent Estevez * Jason Matthew Smith as Ule Co-stars * Kevin Kearns as Luke Moran Notable Quotes Clay: How do you want to handle it? Jax: We kill them all. Gemma: Clay's never gonna... want to be inside something that's been ripped off like me. Tara: Jesus Christ, Gemma, Clay loves you. Gemma: Love don't mean shit. Men need to own their pussy. His has been violated. He'll find another. It's what they do. Stahl: '''What do you want from me? '''Opie: I want you to feel what I feel. Stahl: I never thought that you and your family would get hurt, Opie. I underestimated Clay's capacity for vengeance. Opie: Don't you dare try to pass the blame. Stahl: I'll take my share of the guilt, okay? It comes with the territory. Opie: Donna was a beautiful woman, she was a wonderful mother, and she was an innocent in all of this. The outlaw had mercy, you remember that the next time you try to twist the truth to kill members. Gemma: You think... you think God forgives you for doing bad things? I-- I mean like really... bad shit. Father Francis: God forgives absolutely. We're the ones who usually can't. Church meetings Bobby: Guessing this has something to do with those patches being back on your kutte? Jax: Yeah. I'm not going nomad. Chibs: That's good new, Jackie boy. Jax: Just listen up. Clay: The night of Bobby's party, Gemma never drove into no barricade, she was jumped... on 18. They uh, took her to the utility house. Three of Zobelle's crew. And they gave her a message to deliver. "Stop selling guns." (silence) They raped her. Tig: What? Chibs: Oh god. Tig: Jesus, Clay. I'm so sorry. Clay: One of them was Weston. Opie: What do we do? Chibs: We get bloody! And then we chop their goddamn heads off! (everyone agrees furiously) Clay: No! Jax: We ain't ever seen an assault like this. And as much as I would like to cut their hearts out, show of force just puts us back in jail. We gotta do what they've been doin'. You know, find a weakness. Unravel them. Clay: And until then, nobody reacts. You see Zobelle, you see Weston, you see any of the crew, you swallow the urge to kill them and you walk on. Understood? Bobby: We gotta get our hands on some guns. Cupboard is bare. Clay: Chinese gun source is laying low since the immigration snafu. It's gonna be ''weeks ''before we see any of that shit. Jax: We gotta tap our personal stock. Tig: Alright. Jax: Everyone bring in what you got. (Clay hits table) ---- Opie: This.... This club, this club killed my wife. (silence) How does it ever get made right? Clay: We want to fix this, Ope. Opie: Yeah. Me too. That's why I'm staying. Clay: Good. That's real good. Opie: I don't want anybody knowing my business. It doesn't help me, my family or SAMCRO that this gets out. This secret dies here. Clay: Understood. Anything else? Opie: When I went looking for Stahl, I saw Chibs coming out of her office with paperwork. Clay: Goddamn it. Jax: What? Opie: You need to hear him out, get the truth, and trust what he says. Clay: Yeah. Okay. ---- Tig: Zobelle's in bed with the Mayans? Jax: It was a buy or a trade. Alvarez's only commodity is heroin. Juice: What would Zobelle want with heroin? Jax: It's the missing piece, man. Think about it. This was never about a race war. The guns are about controlling the H traffic. Feed the Mayans weapons so white can control the heroin trade. Bobby: How does that work? Weston and his guys are hard-core color haters. Jax: That's why Weston wasn't at the heroin deal. Clay: So Zobelle's doing all this behind his lieutenant's back? Jax: Judas. Clay: Sounds like something we can unravel. Jax: Absolutely. (Chibs enters the room): Can I have a minute, boys? (cutaway to Piney pulling up at the clubhouse) Chibs: Stahl played my hate for Jimmy O. And I told her I'd give him up for Fiona and Kerriane's safety and immunity for the club. Jax: Jesus, Chibs. Chibs: I didn't make the deal. I guess Edmond turned on his old man. And if Cameron gives up Jimmy, Stahl's threatened to tell him I put the whole thing in motion. Jimmy will kill both of them to hurt me. I'm sorry, boys. Clay: You didn't make the deal. You ain't no rat. Figure out a way to make this thing right with Jimmy is all. Jax: We're not gonna let anything happen to your family. Chibs: Thank you, brothers. (Piney enters): You son of a bitch! (starts shooting at Clay) Jax: Piney! (Piney gets tackled by Opie) Jax: Get the goddamn gun off him! Bobby: Goddamn, Piney! Take it easy! Piney: Get off of me! Tig (to Clay): You ok? Clay: Yeah, I'm alright. (charges at Piney, gets stopped by Jax and rest) Opie: Alright! Alright! Give me the room! Give me the room! Jax (to Clay): Come on. ---- Notes *When Piney enters church to shoot Clay while in his old uniform, his nametape says "Piney" instead of "Winston". Uniform nametapes in real life don't have nicknames. Featured Music * Chuck Prophet - "Love Won't Keep Us Apart" * Souleros - "She Rolls Me" * Steve Conte - "Busload of Hope" * Calypso - "Elephant" * Keiran Fahey - "Dohertys/Tommy Peoples" * Two Gallants - "Fly Low Carrion Crow" * Pearlene - "Rosemary Girl" * Deadstring Brothers - "Can't Make It Through the Night" 211 Category:Season 2